Interagency cooperation in disaster management: partnership, information and communications technology and committed individuals in Jamaica Ina Østensvig

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NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCESNORAGRIC/DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIESMASTER THESIS 30 CREDITS 2006

and committed individuals in Jamaica

Ina Østensvig

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Interagency cooperation in disaster management:

partnership, information and communications technology and committed individuals in Jamaica

By Ina Østensvig

In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the MSc degree in Development Studies.

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) June 2006

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___________________________________________________________________________

Credits

The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) comprising eight departments, associated research institutions and the Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine in Oslo. Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes) and assignments.

The Noragric Master theses are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master programme “Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture” (MNRSA), “Development Studies” and other Master programmes.

The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric.

Noragric

Department of International Environment and Development Studies P.O. Box 5003

N-1432 Ås Norway

Tel.: +47 64 96 52 00 Fax: +47 64 96 52 01

Internet: http://www.umb.no/noragric

Photo credits: Jamaica Red Cross/Ina Østensvig

Following page: Damages, assessment, communication and relief distribution related to Tropical Storm Lili in Jamaica, 2002.

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Dedication

I would like to dedicate this thesis to Jamaica Red Cross’ community disaster response teams and their members. I owe them a debt of gratitude for the inspiration and motivation received by their hard work, courage and commitment. Thank you!

Your efforts truly make a difference! Keep up the good work and stay strong!

Picture 1 - CDRTs in Western Jamaica, May 2004.

Picture 2 - CDRTs in Eastern Jamaica, December 2005.

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Declaration

I, Ina Østensvig, hereby declare that this thesis is my original work. All materials other than my own are duly acknowledged. This work has not been submitted to any other university than UMB for any type of academic degree.

Place and Date: ____________________________

Signature: ________________________________

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Abstract

Jamaica, with its location in the Caribbean, yearly experiences hurricanes and flooding.

Hurricane Ivan happened in 2004. This study examines the partnership and interagency cooperation in the disaster management system in Jamaica during Hurricane Ivan. The use of information and communications technology in this system was also studied. Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted of the involved agencies of the disaster management structures. A questionnaire with structured and open-ended questions was used to collect data at household level. This thesis describes the existing disaster management system in Jamaica, and the involvement of the international community. There is a national and parish level structure, with cooperation among key agencies in the varied specialised area.

Popular trust in the system and the ability to prepare for action play important roles in the success of the disaster management. The time aspect and information sharing are key elements to the efficiency of operations. To some extent information and communications technology is used within the system for this purpose. This paper focuses on Red Cross’

involvement at international, national and parish levels as well as examples of their partnership with private sector and community-based disaster response. This paper concludes that committed individuals within the system are needed to make the disaster management structure successful. There is also a need for training to improve the interagency cooperation and to utilise the available information and communications technologies. The experience from Jamaica shows that preparedness at community level can benefit the communities more than the disaster management system as such. Their success in community disaster preparedness, strengthen community and national self-esteem.

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Acknowledgements

This thesis resulted from a strong desire to combine personal interests, experience and former education. The experience as a youth delegate in Jamaica 2002-03 with Red Cross inspired me to look into the topic of disaster management. Firstly, I want to thank the Jamaica Red Cross’ staff and volunteers for exposing me to the humanitarian world, with its challenges and positive perspectives.

My supervisor Stein W. Bie; Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences has been a great source of motivation, encouragement, support and guidance for the last year while working on this thesis.

In relation to my field work, I’m ever thankful for the invaluable support, guidance and encouragement from my local supervisor Professor Aggrey Brown; Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Education, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Most of all, I want to thank all my respondents for providing me with data and information for this thesis.

Finally, I want to thank my family and friends for their support during my work on this thesis, Kylie Giffard especially for her time and efforts in the completion phase. A special thanks to the Francis’ family, who welcomed me into their family during my field work. I also want to

“big up” Ronald Jackson, at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, for his enormous assistance with my research.

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Table of Content

Credit... ii

Dedication ... iii

Declaration ...iv

Abstract ...v

Acknowledgements ...vi

Table of Content ... vii

List of Figures ...ix

List of Pictures ...ix

Acronyms and abbreviations ...x

1. Introduction... 1

Rationale ... 3

Objectives and research questions ... 4

Objectives... 4

Research questions ... 4

Definitions ... 4

Structure of the thesis ... 9

2. Literature Review ... 11

Challenges related to disasters – the need for disaster management... 11

Successful disaster management ... 12

Community-based disaster management ... 12

Interagency cooperation and efficiency ... 13

Challenges with interagency cooperation and coordination... 14

Communication and coordination ... 15

Means of communication – challenges and possibilities of information and communications technology (ICT) in disaster management... 15

3. Methodology ... 19

Institutional affiliation... 19

Research approach and methods... 20

Selections... 20

Data collection ... 24

Data analysis... 24

Limitations of the study ... 24

Ethical considerations... 25

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4. A case study: Disaster management related to Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica ... 27

Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica... 27

The structure of disaster management ... 29

The International and Caribbean communities’ involvement in disaster management ... 29

Coordinating agencies in disaster management... 31

Disaster management within Jamaica... 32

The Executive’s disaster management meeting... 32

The National Disaster Committee (NDC) / National Response Team ... 34

The Parish Disaster Committee (PDC) / Parish Response Team... 35

Welfare sub-committee... 37

Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) ... 38

Community-based disaster management ... 42

Operations in reality ... 47

Information and communications technology in disaster management ... 51

Partnership with private sector ... 54

5. Strengthening actions – a discussion ... 57

Successful disaster management ... 57

Disaster preparedness ... 60

Information and communications technology in disaster management ... 61

6. Conclusion ... 63

References ... 65

Appendices... 69

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___________________________________________________________________________

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Statistics of natural disasters in Jamaica... 2

Figure 2 - Disaster cycle ... 5

Figure 3 - Maps of study areas, linked together by author. ... 22

Figure 4 – The path and categories of Hurricane Ivan. ... 28

Figure 5 - Map of Hurricane Ivan damage assessment. This map is an example of maps partially displaying affected areas. National Works Agency has started the process of mapping the affected areas, starting in the northwest of the island. The hardest affected areas, the south coast, are therefore not illustrated in this map. The release of incomplete maps may distort the perception of the extent of a disaster. ... 28

Figure 6 - Links between the involved bodies in an international disaster response, illustrated for Jamaica. ... 31

Figure 7 - Coordinating bodies in a disaster response for different areas of responsibility. Illustrated for Jamaica. 1 and 2 will be described in a following section... 31

Figure 8 – The Executive’s disaster management meeting at national policy level. Other ministers ... 33

Figure 9 - National disaster committee. Other bodies are left out of the figure to keep focus on the key ... 35

Figure 10 - Parish Disaster committee (PDC). Other bodies are left out of the figure to keep focus on the key actors for the issues covered in this thesis. ... 36

Figure 11 – Welfare sub-committee of the disaster committee – welfare assessment teams. ... 38

Figure 12 - Information flow in disaster response; to and from the various Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) directly and/or via the media to the affected communities. ... 39

Figure 13 - Sources of information for Jamaica Red Cross' Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). ... 41

Figure 14 – Partnership agreement between Ericsson Response and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) – illustrated for the Caribbean/Jamaica. ... 55

List of Pictures

Picture 1 - CDRTs in Western Jamaica, May 2004... iii

Picture 2 - CDRTs in Eastern Jamaica, December 2005... iii

Picture 3 - Community Disaster Response Teams refresher-training in Jamaica. 2005... 44

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Acronyms and abbreviations

ADRA Adventist Development and Relief Agency CARICOM Caribbean Community

CDERA Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency DIPECHO V Disaster Preparedness ECHO project V

DMIS Disaster Managing Information System

ECHO Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission EOC Emergency Operations Centre

ER Ericsson Response

FACT Field Assessment and Coordination Team

IFRC International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ISDR International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

JCF Jamaica Constabulary Force (Police)

JDF Jamaica Defence Force

JFB Jamaica Fire Brigade

JRC/S Jamaica Red Cross Society Met. Office Meteorological Service of Jamaica MLSS Ministry of Labour and Social Security

MoH Ministry of Health

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MP Minister of Parliament

NDC National Disaster Committee

NEOC National Emergency Operations Centre NGO Non-governmental organisations

NWA National Works Agency

ODPEM Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management PADRU Pan-American Disaster Response Unit

PC Parish Council

PDC Parish Disaster Committee

PEOC Parish Emergency Operations Centre

PM Prime Minister

RC Red Cross

RJR RJR Communications Group, Jamaica SDC Social Development Commission

UN United Nations

UNDAC United Nations Damage Assessment and Coordination Team UNDP United Nations Development Programme

VCA Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment

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1. Introduction

Disasters are occurring around the world with increasing frequency. The people affected by the disasters are predominantly from developing countries and are among the poorest population. While the richer part of the population loose more in monetary value, but the percentage of losses are far less than for the poor(IFRC 2004). “Disasters disproportionately affect the poor: over 90 per cent of the total disaster-related deaths occur in developing countries; and the economic losses they cause represent a percentage of their gross national product estimated to be 20 times greater than in industrial countries”(IFRC).

“Earthquakes, floods, drought, and other natural hazards continue to cause tens of thousands of deaths, hundreds of thousands of injuries, and billions of dollars in economic losses each year around the world. The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT), a global disaster database maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in Brussels, records upwards of 600 disasters globally each year (http://www.cred.be). Disaster frequency appears to be increasing. Disasters represent a major source of risk for the poor and wipe out development gains and accumulated wealth in developing countries”(Dilley et al.

2005:1). In Jamaica floods and wind storms are the most frequent natural disasters. See Figure 1 for a summary of registered natural disasters in Jamaica.

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Figure 1 - Statistics of natural disasters in Jamaica

Source:"EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database, www.em-dat.net - Université catholique de Louvain - Brussels - Belgium"

Disaster management plays an important role in the development of a country, especially in the poorer nations. Areas and communities where disasters strike are hindered, particularly in the socio-economic sector. Interagency cooperation plays a significant part in disaster management by minimising the impact of a disaster and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the response. One way of improving the efficiency of interagency cooperation is the use of information and communications technology.

In disaster situations, various agencies have a pre-defined role on how to respond to assist the affected people. In most instances a Government agency plays the coordinating role in the disaster management system. Non-governmental organisations with specialisations in different areas work alongside various government agencies to reduce the recovery time for those affected by a disaster. Increasingly, the focus is on prevention, mitigation and preparedness in order to reduce the chance of disasters occurring and to be better prepared to respond to the next disaster and thereby limiting the impact.

Every year strong winds and heavy rain create disaster situations in Jamaica, especially in the hurricane season between 1 June and 30 November. In 1988 Hurricane Gilbert destroyed large areas of the island, as did Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. These events caused both damage to livelihood, housing and infrastructure; including water, sanitation, roads, electricity and the loss of lives(IFRC 2004).

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In this study I have looked at the interagency cooperation in disaster management in Jamaica.

I’m focusing on key disaster management agencies at international/regional, national, parish and community level, to determine how they cooperate, as well as considering the use of information and communications technology within disaster management.

Rationale

My reasons for study in this area include a combination of personal background and interests, an increased focus on disasters and disaster management in general as well as the focus on information and communications technology in relation to development.

I have been working and volunteering over a period of time for Jamaica Red Cross. During this time, I have gained an insight into the existing disaster management system in Jamaica, and wanted to focus my research in this area. The interest in investigating the use of information and communications technology (ICT) is threefold; I have an undergraduate degree in computer engineering, Jamaica is one the fastest growing countries in the Latin America/Caribbean region when it comes to use of ICT(WEF 2005), and the international focus is on the potential benefits of ICT. For example the United Nations’ Millennium development goal number 8:”Develop a global partnership for development. […] Target 18:

In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially information and communications technologies”(UNDP 2002), support this.

My research will hopefully trigger further improvements in relation to interagency cooperation in Jamaica’s existing disaster management system. This could also provide other small-island states without a disaster management system in place, ideas on ways they could better cope with disaster. Another area in which this study could impact is in the use of ICT within disaster management. Improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and logistics of disaster preparedness (warnings and readiness) and response, will decrease the impact on vulnerable people. In the larger picture, these improvements could lead to positive development of the affected community and the country at large.

Existing literature covering the linkage between interagency cooperation, disaster management and information and communications technology is very limited. The separate topics are widely covered and I will therefore attempt to link the literature in this thesis.

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Objectives and research questions

Objectives

The objectives of my study are:

1. Map the key agencies involved in the disaster management system in Jamaica.

2. Understand the interagency cooperation within the disaster management system; the agencies’ roles, and how they operate and communicate.

3. Find out what types of information and communications technologies are used in disaster management and how they are used.

4. Find out how the partnership agreement between Ericsson Response (ER) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) functions in practise for Jamaica and Jamaica Red Cross.

Research questions

The research questions focus on the mapping of key disaster management agencies and their roles, their cooperation and the use of information and communications technologies. For complete interview guides and questionnaire, see Appendices.

Definitions

Below is a list of key words used throughout the thesis. They are listed in alphabetical order.

Disaster

“A sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction; broadly : a sudden or great misfortune or failure”

Source: (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

“A situation in which a threat exposes the vulnerability of individuals and communities to a degree that their lives are directly threatened or sufficient harm has been done to economic and social structures to undermine their ability to survive”.

Source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

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Disaster cycle

Figure 2 - Disaster cycle

Source: Office of disaster preparedness and emergency management (ODPEM-Jamaica). Adjusted by author.

Disaster management

“A collective term encompassing all aspects of planning for and responding to disasters, including both the pre- and post-disaster activities. It refers to both the risk and consequences of a disaster”.

Source: Office of disaster preparedness and emergency management (ODPEM-Jamaica).

Disaster preparedness

“Activities that contribute to the pre-planned, timely and effective response of individuals and communities to withstand, reduce the impact and deal with the consequences of a (future) disaster”.

Disaster response

“Coordinated activities aimed at meeting the needs of people who are affected by a disaster”.

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Emergency

“1 : an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action

2 : an urgent need for assistance or relief”.

Source: (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

Hazard

“The potential for a natural or man-caused phenomena to occur with negative consequences”.

Hurricane

“A hurricane is a tropical cyclone in which the maximum average wind speed near a centre or eye exceeds 74mph or 119km/h. The winds rotate in a counter-clockwise spiral around a region of low pressure. In the Atlantic […] such systems are called Hurricanes”.

Source: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA).

Hurricane “eye”

“This is where the lowest pressure of the hurricane is found, and is usually a relatively calm center portion of the hurricane. The winds are light, the skies are partly cloudy (or even clear) and rain-free. The diameter of the eye can be as small as 5 miles or as large as 100 miles, averaging about 20 miles”.

Source: National Weather Center/National Hurricane Center (NOAA).

Hurricane categories (The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)

“The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a 1-5 rating based on the hurricane's present intensity.

This is used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale […]”.

• Category 1 Hurricane: Winds 119-153 km/hr

• Category 5 Hurricane: Winds greater than 249 km/hr

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Hurricane names

“Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The original name lists featured only women's names. In 1979, men's names were introduced and they alternate with the women's names. Six lists are used in rotation. […]. In the event that more than 21 named tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic basin in a season, additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet”.

Information and communications technology

“Electronic means of capturing, processing, storing and disseminating information”.

Source: “ICTs forPoverty Alleviation: Basic Tool and Enabling Sector”(SIDA 2005)

“New ICTs: Computers, satellites, wireless one-on-one communications (including mobile phones), the Internet, e-mail and multimedia generally fall into the New ICT category.

The concepts behind these technologies are not particularly new, but the common and

inexpensive use of them is what makes them new. Most of these, and virtually all new versions of them, are based on digital communications.

Old ICTs: Radio, television, land-line telephones and telegraph fall into the Old ICT category. They have been in reasonably common use throughout much of the world for many decades. Traditionally, these technologies have used analog transmission techniques, although they too are migrating to the now less expensive digital format.

Really Old ICTs: Newspapers, books and libraries fall into this category. They have been in common use for several hundred years”.

Source: “ICTs forPoverty Alleviation: Basic Tool and Enabling Sector”(SIDA 2005).

“Information and communication technology refers to:

- Information channels such as World Wide Web, online databases, electronic documents, management and accounting systems, intranet, etc.

- Communication channels such as e-mail, electronic discussion groups, electronic conferences, the use of cell phones, etc.

- Hardware and software used to generate, prepare, transmit and store data, such as computers, radio, TV, computer programs/tools, etc.”

Source: “Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in development co-operation – guidelines from NORAD”(Norad 2002).

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Interagency cooperation

Interagency: “Involving or representing two or more agencies, especially government agencies”.

Source: (Online Dictionary - Answers.com)

Cooperation:

“1. The act or practice of cooperating.

2. The association of persons or businesses for common, usually economic, benefit.”

“Co-operation refers to the practice of people or greater entities working in common with commonly agreed-upon goals and possibly methods, instead of working separately in competition.

Cooperation is the antithesis of competition, however, the need or desire to compete with others is a very common impetus that motivates individuals to organize into a group and cooperate with each other in order to form a stronger competitive force. […]

Many people support cooperation as the ideal form of management of human affairs. In terms of individuals obtaining goods and services, rather than resorting to theft or confiscation, they may cooperate by trading with each other or by altruistic sharing.”

Natural hazard

“These are naturally occurring events that are not caused by man’s actions or activities. […]

E.g. earthquake, floods, hurricanes/storm surges, landslides and drought”.

Vulnerability

“The extent to which a community’s structure, services or environment is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a hazard”

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Structure of the thesis

The following chapter, Chapter 2, is a review of literature related to my thesis. The topics covered include disasters and disaster management, interagency cooperation, and use of information and communications technology (ICT) in disaster management.

Chapter 3 covers the methodology used in the process from a selection of study areas and informants, the methods used to collect data as well as ways to analyse findings and the limitations and ethical considerations related to my research.

My findings are presented in Chapter 4. Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica is the case used in my study. Firstly, I will introduce the storm and its impact on Jamaica. Secondly, I will show the interagency cooperation that exists in Jamaica with its key agencies at international/regional, national, parish level. A presentation of a committed community member and his community disaster response team follows thereafter. An overview of the information and communications technologies (ICT) that were used within the interagency cooperation system in disaster management follows. Lastly, I will present an example of a partnership agreement between a private sector company and a humanitarian organisation.

Chapter 5 includes a discussion of the existing literature presented in Chapter 2 and my findings from Chapter 4. Chapter 6 is the concluding chapter of my thesis.

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2. Literature Review

The key topics covered in this thesis are the interagency cooperation and partnership in disaster management; international, national and community-based disaster management in addition to the use of information and communications technology in disaster management operations.

Challenges related to disasters – the need for disaster management

Disasters are both a humanitarian as well as an economic issue. The cost of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction comes in addition to the human and economic loss caused by a disaster. “Disaster losses can be reduced by reducing exposure or vulnerability to the hazards present in a given area”(Dilley et al. 2005:115). Therefore reduction of disaster risks and vulnerability are key components for sustainable development(Dilley et al. 2005).

In the Economic and Social Survey for Jamaica 2004, it was stated that natural and man-made hazards by their occurrence “can pose a constraint to sustainable development because of the widespread social, economic and environmental degradation that accompanies them. Some effects of this are loss of live and property, displacement of residents, pollution of water resources, and sanitation and health problems”(PIOJ 2005:18.4).

The costs created by disasters are an extra burden, particularly in hazard-prone countries. This can put an extra financial pressure on the government’s mitigation and preparedness activities in hazard-prone countries, which often constitute the poorer nations(Benson & Clay 2004).

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Additional challenges related to disasters are people’s perceptions of risk and their behaviour.

Smith(2004) is states that people’s perception of risk is one of many factors taken into account when people make a decision to evacuate their homes, or refuse to evacuate.

Furthermore, he emphasizes that “there is a need for a better understanding of emergency evacuation procedures”(Smith 2004:160), when it comes to people’s resistance to act like the emergency planners want them to.

This leads into the element of trust. “It seems likely that trust plays a vital role in establishing the conditions for effective coordination among otherwise separate organisations in the humanitarian relief environment”(Stephenson Jr. 2005:343). For the coordination of emergency operations Stephenson Jr. describes trust as “a necessary but perhaps not sufficient condition for effective inter-organisational coordination in emergency relief situations”(Stephenson Jr. 2005:346).

Successful disaster management

According to the World Disasters Report 2005; hurricane forecasting, national warning, local government diffusion, civil society participation and popular understanding and action need to come together for successful disaster management, specified for the Caribbean(IFRC 2005).

As stated in this report, “nowhere, can the government do everything. Civil society must pitch in. But this means people must trust the government”(ibid.:54). “Caribbean’s 2004 hurricane season comes down on both sides – a balance of technology and local activism. The excellent hurricane forecasting available in the Caribbean is necessary, but not sufficient, to prevent disasters. In the most successful cases – Cuba and Jamaica – there is functional local government, proactive voluntary activities and evidence of great improvisation and local knowledge”(ibid.:56).

Community-based disaster management

Community-based disaster management is recognised to provide more accurate definition of local problems, where the local needs are expressed from within. Another benefit of community-based activities/organisations is the possibility of rapid, cost-effective and fair emergency response. In addition, the fact that respondents possess local know-how and can mitigate and respond to their own disaster, reduces their vulnerability to disaster(Twigg

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1999). “Integration of the community system into the wider emergency response network is important as it gives the community a feeling of being supported by the wider network”(Carby 2003:813) is one of the arguments put forward supporting integrated community-based disaster management. Carby also comments that “the experience from Jamaica has shown that the community will become involved if there are a few individuals willing to take charge […]. It is also important that the community perceives that the authorities are handling their responsibility to the community”(ibid.).

ECHO/ISDR presented at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan, in 2005 exemplifies good community-based disaster management. Jamaica Red Cross’

Community-Based Disaster Management Project (DIPECHO V) was one of the cases presented at the conference. The project, in short, trained community members in “light search and rescue, emergency first aid, basic logistics and evacuation procedures”(ECHO/ISDR 2005). The team members provided assistance to their communities in the Hurricane Ivan operation by warning their fellow community members ahead of the hurricane, assisting in evacuation and volunteering as shelter managers. “Their efficient reporting during the first 72 hours after the hurricane provided valid information that enhanced response mechanisms in their areas”(ECHO/ISDR 2005).

Interagency cooperation and efficiency

The Humanitarian Response Review, concludes that “interagency cooperation within the NGO community is not frequently utilized at the headquarters for planning and resource management purposes”(Adinolfi et al. 2005:10). Furthermore the report suggests that

“Training should be undertaken at all operational levels and, to the extent possible, be expanded to interorganization clusters as a means of achieving the widest possible results”(ibid.:33). The need for a system-wide Lead Organization concept is also put forward in the report. This concept encourages “effective use of expertise and technical knowhow of mandated organizations”(ibid.:47), which will “facilitate clustering at different levels where this model has a potential to increase efficiency in the use of resources”(ibid.).

Efficiency in a multi-agent system is described by Iwata et al. (2004), saying that groups should be formed to “solve problems that are beyond the ability of a single agent. However, some agents may perform redundant actions which have already been completed by other

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agents in the same group, as all agents would attempt to perform the same set of actions if they have the same goal”(Iwata et al. 2004:280). To reach their goal in an efficient way, “the agents should perform the fewest number of actions required”(ibid.). Often agents concentrate on their own goals and forget about their role in the wider system, as a group member. The cooperative model proposed, is defined to be a system where “agents focus on their actions as part of the group and reduce the number of redundant actions by sharing common actions”(ibid.:281).

Challenges with interagency cooperation and coordination

The challenges involved in interagency cooperation are “both to ensure an accurate rendering of needs and to mobilise the appropriate organisations or portions of organisations in the humanitarian network to respond rapidly and effectively to those needs”(Stephenson Jr.

2005:342). An additional challenge is that “organizations have allowed internal emergency systems to develop in isolation from the overall organizational objectives or realistic resource capabilities”(Adinolfi et al. 2005:9).

The apparent hesitance to share information with other operational humanitarian agents involved in an operation, is explained by Stephenson Jr.. He highlights both the limited encouragement given by the environment in which they are operating and the structure of the operational relationship between the agencies. The complex work environment challenges cooperation in many ways. These includes the cost of operation and cooperation, the variety of mandates among the agencies, a wish to “be first on the spot” so as to draw media’s attention and thereby possibly attract new donors and finally, competition for scarce resources(Stephenson Jr. 2005).

Another factor influencing relationships and cooperation is trust, mentioned by Stephenson Jr..

“It seems likely that trust plays a vital role in establishing the conditions for effective coordination among otherwise separate organisations in the humanitarian relief environment”(Stephenson Jr. 2005:343).

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Communication and coordination

“Communication has a fundamental role in maintaining relationships” (Tourish & Hargie 2004:34). Tourish and Hargie also define communication as having a primary role in maintaining consistency between management decisions and behaviour. “Cross- organizational communication [is] a vital component of program planning and organizational success”(Maiers, Reynolds & Haselkorn 2005). Maiers et al. further comment on the tension and challenges involved in relief operations and how these challenge intra- and inter- organizational communication.

Minear discusses coordination as a multifunctional activity. He mention six key elements in coordination; “(1) strategic planning; (2) gathering data and managing information; (3) mobilizing resources and assuring accountability; (4) orchestrating a functional division of labor in the field; (5) negotiating and maintaining a serviceable framework with host political authorities; and (6) providing leadership”(Minear 2002:20).

Means of communication – challenges and possibilities of information and communications technology (ICT) in

disaster management

The World Disasters Report stresses that “local organization and awareness working from

‘below’ are just as important as timely and accurate high-tech warnings from ‘above’”(IFRC 2005:40). The different responsibilities of the media and local government are described as follows in the World Disasters Report 2005: “While national radio and television may broadcast the warning to the most isolated corners of the country, it is local government that must team up with the national Red Cross and NGOs to ensure that people understand the warnings, shelters are ready, evacuation proceeds on time and people take appropriate action.[…].Local government is responsible for ongoing public education about hurricanes, plus preparedness efforts to reduce losses when the next hurricane hits. If local government is weak, the chain of warning and preparedness breaks apart”(ibid.:53-4).

“Existing information is generally outdated, hard to find, scattered among different sources, or unreliable for political or other reasons”(Maiers, Reynolds & Haselkorn 2005). “The

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advantages of ICT lie in what it can be used for […and] how it can be used for the management of information”(Powell 1999:24). One of the benefits of ICT usage is its capacity to integrate “information from different part of an organisation”(ibid.:126). “The key consideration is not which technology to implement, but rather how to use and combine it with other channels of communication”(O'Kane, Hargie & Tourish 2004:95).

The use of technology in disaster management is expanding; “Communications media, including the Internet, cell phones, radio and television, have seen explosive growth” (IFRC 2005:51). The Caribbean ICT virtual community reports from the Hurricane Ivan operation in the Caribbean that “people listened to their radios, watched their televisions and awaited word on what they should do. The Barbadian response to Ivan for example was coordinated through the use of cellular phones in the communities. Radio and television broadcasts were also used to keep the public abreast during and after the passage of Ivan”(CIVIC 2004:3).

New developments in information and communications technology are given credit for both improved risk assessments and real-time disaster management, “including applications of satellite remote sensing, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)”(Smith 2004:50). Montalvo emphasises the benefits of GIS data-sets that can be used for “activities such as planning, policy making, and monitoring with regard to natural and other types of resources and infrastructures such as transport networks, telecommunications networks, and waterways”(Montalvo 2002:188). The data-sets can be produced from a combination of spatial and socio-economic data.

Maiers et al. consider the question, do “technical communications have a key role to play in the future of humanitarian relief”. They stress the possibilities for “development of well- planned information and communication systems […]that enhance organizational capacity, especially in challenging areas like coordination, strategic planning, preparedness, accountability, lessons learned, training, research, and education”(Maiers, Reynolds &

Haselkorn 2005). They further propose expanding the focus of NGOs from direct relief to a wider strategic management and recording ‘lessons learnt’ to improve future operations, as well as “help ‘professionalize’ the humanitarian relief”(ibid.).

ICT can create difficulties for disaster management operations. Some of the potential disadvantages are addressed by Powell; firstly mentioned is the basic requirements such as

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electricity, phone network, printer, disks and paper for ICT must be present to be of any benefit to the operation. The cost of software, hardware, and time spent on training plus organisational issues and impacts are additional constraints(Powell 1999). “The common shortcomings that were identified [in the Caribbean] were that the communication systems used for information dissemination would not have withstood full wrath of the hurricane. […].

In hurricane winds, telephone landlines and cell phone repeaters would probably not have survived. The Internet, which also depends on national ICT grid would also not have been accessible”(CIVIC 2004:3).

Further to the possible technical shortcomings, social aspects also play a role in the efficiency of technology usage in disaster operations. “Field workers do not see direct benefits, in fact they generally experience IT initiatives as reducing their effectiveness”(Maiers, Reynolds &

Haselkorn 2005), and therefore “technology is often seen as a distraction from the primary mission of reducing human suffering”(ibid.).

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3. Methodology

In order to gain an overview of the functioning of emergency services during Hurricane Ivan it was important to select more than one community, allowing identification of differences between the communities.

In practise, due to time and access constraints, two communities were selected. The two contrast in geographical position and vicinity to urban centres. Within each community an attempt was made to obtain a good, statistically sound sample of views and experiences relating to the function of the emergency services during the Hurricane Ivan operation.

It was impossible to identify and interview all affected community members, so a sample of 10 individuals was identified from a provided list of persons accommodated in one shelter in Yallahs. The same number of people were identified in Ewarton from recollections of key people who had been sheltered there. Neither samples constitute strict probability samples of the population of each community since availability and accessibility for interviews were important constraints. But the interviews indicated similar experiences and views, with expected variance in opinions. Much care was taken to avoid individuals with strong views influencing both the actual sampling as well as the interview process of other people. The majority of views and overall opinions were fairly reflected in the samples of interviewed individuals.

Institutional affiliation

During the study, contact was made with staff and volunteers of the Jamaica Red Cross Society and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management as well as my

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local supervisor at the University of the West Indies. This study has a focus on Red Cross operations and examples may be biased positively in their direction. This does not suggest that other organisations do not have good practises worth attention, but they were not considered in this study.

Research approach and methods

My research was based on a qualitative approach where various methods were used in the data collection process. Below is a description of the methods used in this study.

• Semi-structured key informant interviews with use of a interview guide

• Household interviews with use of a questionnaire incorporating both structured and open-ended questions.

• Informal conversations; unstructured interviews

• Observations of context, work environment and operations (EOC during Hurricane Wilma October 2005, trainings, meeting)

• Secondary data analysis; reports, web pages, books, articles, news releases from agencies/media, situation reports from operations.

Selections

Case

Hurricane Ivan was selected as the case for this research because it is one of the most recent disasters in which the international community participated in the response in Jamaica. More recent storms have occurred, however, to include the international aspect of the response, Hurricane Ivan was selected (September 2004) in preference to Hurricane Wilma which passed Jamaica while this thesis was being researched in October 2005. Some observations are from the Hurricane Wilma response. These observations could reflect a national response and should be identical to Hurricane Ivan the year before. The difference between the Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Wilma response was the involvement of international agencies.

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Study areas

Jamaica was selected as the country of study because of my former experiences with the country and in order to benefit from my former network of contacts within the disaster management system. In addition, Jamaica is a country where a predefined disaster management system exisits and is “in action” throughout the year, as opposed to many other countries where a disaster management system is only put in place during a disaster. Since I was based in Kingston, the focus was on the disaster management system of two different parishes surrounding Kingston; St. Thomas and St. Catherine as well as at the national level.

In the parishes, research was limited to the key agencies within the welfare section of the disaster management system.

Communities

To determine how the national disaster management system functioned and benefited the affected people, affected household members in the community of the two selected parishes in Jamaica were interviewed.

The Yallahs community in St. Thomas parish and Ewarton community in St. Catherine parish were selected. Both communities are vulnerable to disasters and frequently affected by floods and hurricanes. In collaboration with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the Social Development Commission, Jamaica Red Cross selected eight vulnerable communities island-wide to take part in a community disaster response team training project sponsored by ECHO, in 2004. Ewarton and Yallahs were among the communities selected for the training. The training took place in the spring of 2004, with a refresher-training in November/December 2005.

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Figure 3 - Maps of study areas, linked together by author.

Key agencies

Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management was the natural starting point to map the key agencies, since this office is the governmental body coordinating all disaster management in Jamaica. Another source used to map key agencies was Jamaica Red Cross and their cooperating agencies in the welfare section of the parishes and at national level.

Additionally, some leads were obtained via the local supervisor. In the interview process, feedback was obtained from the interviewees of other cooperating agencies, thereby adding relevant agencies to the data collection. The interviewees covered information service providers, first-responders, NGOs and governmental agencies, private sector, as well as international agencies.

At national level, representatives at the head offices were interviewed. In the two selected parishes, the heads of three main agencies in the welfare section at parish level were interviewed and at the community level, the community disaster response team leaders were consulted.

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Households

To determine whether the disaster management system in Jamaica is effective and benefits the affected people, households were interviewed, preferably the head of the household, to hear their side of the story. People who had sought official shelter during Hurricane Ivan were sought to limit the sample size.

In Yallahs, a registration list of people in shelter, to be referred to as shelterees, during Hurricane Ivan was accessed. One of the schools used as a shelter was selected and the list of shelterees was found. With assistance from a community member and people encountered on the streets, 8 out of 19 listed people were located. Some challenges were experienced during this time; some individuals had moved since September 2004, others worked in town and were not accessible during visits to the community. One name on the list was unknown to all the assisting community members, due to the common use of nicknames and therefore being unfamiliar with given name's used on the registration form. Two people were found whom had been in the shelter but were not registered on the list.

In Ewarton, different methods were required to access the shelterees. Neither the parish nor the national level offices could provide a shelteree-list for the suggested community. As it was difficult to confirm whether a shelter existed in this community or not, the focus was changed to Ewarton where access to the community was available through Jamaica Red Cross’

community disaster response team. In the absence of a list of shelterees, the contact person was instead able to find shelterees. The decision was made to interview the same number of individuals as in Yallahs. In Yallas the interviewees consisted of people who sought shelter at the same school and therefore resided in roughly the same area within the community. In Ewarton, however, the interviewees were from diverse areas of the community, seeking different shelters. The contact person was aware of people who had been given shelter through his assistance during the operations. Others were found through a teacher at a school, where a child at school was asked to list other families joining his family at the shelter during Hurricane Ivan.

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Data collection

The data collection in Jamaica took place from October till December 2005. In all instances I conducted the interviews myself. A few interviews were booked by personal contacts with links to the agencies that were subsequently interviewed. The agencies interviewed at international and national level as well as at the parish level were conducted under the direction of an adjusted interview guide (Appendices 1-7), so as to phrase the questions in the same way to all the agencies for comparison and triangulation of their responses. The household interviews took place through personal visits to the communities. Local contacts assisted in locating the interviewees. The interviews were based on a structured questionnaire (see Appendix 8).

Data analysis

The comparison and triangulation of answers by the various interviewees generated more accurate research. The questions asked intended to allow a comparison of agencies at national level, but also did so from the national level through the parishes to the communities and people affected by a disaster. The inclusion of the household level intended to function as a check-up of the functionality of the disaster management system studied and to find out if the system was effective in reaching the people.

In order to assess the structure of the participating organisations and the interrelations between them a number of diagrams were constructed to visualise these relationships. They are presented in detail in Chapter 4.

In addition to comparing the data obtained during this study, findings were compared with existing literature, as presented in Chapter 2.

Limitations of the study

Firstly, the timing for research on a disaster management topic was not ideal. The hurricane season was still active and therefore the key agencies were busy responding to urgent situations instead of being easily accessible for interviews. A further seasonal consideration is that December is part of the Christmas season, making it difficult to access people.

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The flooding and collapse of roads following Hurricane Wilma in October and previous storms, created challenges to accessibility and limited my choices of communities, in addition to delaying my research initially. As such, the communities included with a Jamaica Red Cross community disaster response team, were both located along main roads in close vicinity to the capital.

At the household level, the intention was to access formal lists of shelterees. This turned out to be a real challenge. In St. Thomas, the shelteree-list was accessed quite easily. After seeking permission from the head office, the parish office of Ministry of Labour and Social Security released the list. In St. Catherine, the absence of a list, was confirmed by people in the community.

The main challenge when it came to agencies was accessing a representative from Ministry of Health. Within the available time, communication was not made with anyone from the health section. This seemed to be a common challenge for other agencies involved in the disaster management system, both at national and parish level.

As this study was focusing on the disaster management system functions there was no particular effort put into the age and gender issues at the household level. The people that never reached a shelter who could be worse off than many that went to shelters were not covered by this study.

Ethical considerations

I found it important to clearly define my role, especially to emphasis my affiliation. A few of my informants knew me as a Red Cross staff member/volunteer, and therefore it was important to clarify that this study was a part of my MSc thesis and not related to Jamaica Red Cross.

While in the communities it was important to clarify my role and purpose to make sure I didn’t create any false hope of any forthcoming assistance. At times, bystanders started either verbally insulting me or asking for assistance, based on previous visitors to the community that left there with false promises.

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In Chapter 4, I have chosen to present one individual. This is not a case to be generalised, but to function as an example of one of many committed individuals. The selection of the individual to present was based on the amount of provided information by the individual and by other sources.

During the household interviews, I wanted to get assistance from independent sources, to limit the chances for biased responses from my interviewees. In one instance, I decided not to use a volunteer employed at a governmental agency as a link into a community. Due to lack of time, I had to settle with a involved volunteer to assist me in one of the communities, however, no prior information was given about my purpose and affiliation to the interviewees and the assistant kept a distance during the interviews.

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4. A case study: Disaster management related to Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica

Jamaica is defined as a low-middle income nation in UNDP’s Human Development Report(Human Development Report 2005). Challenges for Jamaica’s development include;

unemployment, minimal economic growth, natural disasters and crime(PIOJ/UNDP 2005).

These various areas require significant resources and make a complex situation even more so.

In this thesis the focus is on the management of natural disasters and resource usage in that matter. The case used to illustrate the disaster management system in Jamaica, is the Hurricane Ivan operation of September 2004.

Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica

The ‘eye’ of Hurricane Ivan just missed Jamaica’s south coast on the 11^th of September 2004.

Strong winds up to 250 kilometres per hour were measured as Hurricane Ivan passed Jamaica.

Heavy rainfall continued the following day across the island(ECLAC 2004; EM-DAT 2005).

Hurricane Ivan was the most powerful storm to strike Jamaica and the Caribbean in more than fifty years(IFRC 2005). At the time it passed Jamaica, Hurricane Ivan was a Category 4 hurricane. The path and categories of Hurricane Ivan are illustrated in Figure 4.

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Figure 4 – The path and categories of Hurricane Ivan.

Source: (The Weather Underground)

Hurricane Ivan affected numerous sections of the population. Roughly 370,000 persons out of the total population of 2.65 million, or about 14.9 per cent, were directly affected by this disaster(ECLAC 2004). 17 people lost their lives as a consequence of Hurricane Ivan. The economic losses from Hurricane Ivan equate eight per cent of the country’s GDP for 2003, or an estimated sum of US$ 595 million(PIOJ 2005). Hurricane Ivan and other more recent hurricanes have resulted in great hindrance to the nation (PIOJ 2005). Some of the mapped damages from Hurricane Ivan are shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 - Map of Hurricane Ivan damage assessment. This map is an example of maps partially displaying affected areas. National Works Agency has started the process of mapping the affected areas, starting in the northwest of the island. The hardest affected areas, the south coast, are therefore not illustrated in this map. The release of incomplete maps may distort the perception of the extent of a disaster.

Source: National Works Agency (NWA)

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The structure of disaster management

Disaster management, and an efficient system of such, is one of many areas of development attempts. Improved preparedness is designed to decrease the number of people affected during a disaster, or ideally, to prevent damages from occurring. So how is the disaster management system in Jamaica organised? Below is a description of the system and how it functioned in relation to Hurricane Ivan.

When a disaster strikes and it exceeds the national capability to respond, the Prime Minister (PM) declares a state of emergency. The PM makes this decision based on an agreement between the Ministers in the Executive group with disaster management as part of their portfolio, see Figure 8, and the director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. This Declaration functions as an appeal to the International Donor Community, which triggers emergency funds to be made available to assist the national disaster management system to restore the country to normality as quickly as possible. Below is an explanation of how this system links together and functions relative to Jamaica. The Hurricane Ivan disaster response operation is used as an example (Figure 6).

The International and Caribbean communities’ involvement in disaster management

In this section the three key international disaster management agencies will be presented in relation to the Hurricane Ivan operation in Jamaica.

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA)

Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) is a specialized agency within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is responsible for coordinating all disaster related relief activities in the Caribbean and supporting the Government’s response. CDERA participates in the whole disaster management cycle, e.g. it conducts training for preparedness throughout the year and is involved in mitigation projects as well as disaster response. In the case of Hurricane Ivan, CDERA provided support to the Jamaican Government and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), but did not have any representatives in Jamaica to coordinate the wider international community.

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United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC)

United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) is deployed by the resident coordinator, in this case the Head of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Jamaica. This team assists the Government of Jamaica in its disaster response operations. The UNDAC team was the coordinating body for all the international agencies; embassies, NGOs and other UN-agencies taking part in the disaster response. In the case of Hurricane Ivan, each afternoon they organised a one hour update-meeting, where all agencies met to share information by updating and providing information on desired future actions. The needs identified in the field by the various agencies, as well as by the national disaster management agencies, were put forward in the same meeting. This allowed these needs to be addressed and dealt with in a cooperative manner. The assistance from UNDAC was at a national level, rather than local level, i.e. not part of the distribution of relief items. UNDAC operated only in the response phase, approximately for 2 weeks. After those weeks, UNDP took over and development was then the focus of their involvement.

The mechanisms of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) are getting involved in a national disaster operation on request of the Red Cross national society; here: Jamaica Red Cross. The national society requests assistance in order to fulfil its mandate when the operation exceeds their capability. IFRC sent a Field Assessment and Coordination Team (FACT) to assist Jamaica Red Cross in the case of Hurricane Ivan. FACT’s role is to coordinate the international Red Cross community’s involvement in the local response of the Jamaica Red Cross. Due to the Red Cross movement’s seven fundamental principles for operation there are strong restrictions for involvement. For instance the principles of independence and impartiality play a strong role in the teamwork of disaster management.

Red Cross is independent and therefore does not necessarily accept being told what to do, where to respond and whom to help. It operates to assist those perceived to be most in need.

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Figure 6 - Links between the involved bodies in an international disaster response, illustrated for Jamaica.

Source: Author

Coordinating agencies in disaster management

A summary of the coordinating agencies for disaster management at different levels are illustrated in the table below (Figure 7).

Figure 7 - Coordinating bodies in a disaster response for different areas of responsibility.

Illustrated for Jamaica. ¹ and ² will be described in a following section.

Source: Author